Murderers and Terrorist Motive of Elkana (Samaria) Resident Revealed After Gag Order Lifted

Reuven Schmerling, of blessed memory, resident of the community of Elkana and victim of latest terrorist attack against Israelis [Photo Source: Courtesy]

The murderers of 69-year-old Jewish resident ofElkana, Reuven Schmerling, were brought to justice and information surrounding their capture and motive was recently made public. During the holiday of Sukkot, security forces arrested Yousuf Khaled Mustafa Kamil, 20, and Muhammad Ziyad Abu Al-Roub, 19, residents of Qabatiya (Samaria), on suspicion of involvement of the murder of Reuven Schmerling. The body of 69-year-old Reuven Schmerling was found in a storage unit belonging to his business in Kafr Qassem’s, hours before the start of the Jewish festival ofSukkot. The body was found containing multiple stab wounds, according to Israeli police officials. At first, Israeli authorities did not want to rule the murder of Schmerling a result of terrorism and were investigating other motives such as a business deal gone wrong or the result of disgruntled employees. The Defense Ministry later decided to recognize the murder in the Arab Israeli city a result of terror.

Israel’s Shin Bet security service confirmed that the two Arab residents of Qabatiya murdered Reuven Schmerling in revenge for the death of their friend, Ahmed Abu al-Roub, who was killed in an attempted stabbing attack at the Jalameh crossing, and events on the Temple Mount. According to the Shin Bet’s report, the 2 Arabs sought a Jew to kill to avenge their friend and to “pay back” Israel for the security measures that were deployed at the Temple Mount (and subsequently removed).

According to a recent court indictment which describes the charges being brought against the 2 Arab terrorists, Kamil and Al-Roub entered Israel proper without a permit on September 23 and began to work in the coal storage facility of Reuven Schmerling in Kafr Qasem. Al-Roub initially refused to be a part of the murder but later changed his mind and the two planned to murder a nationalistic motive of one of the Jews who worked there. In order to carry out the murder, Kamil and Al-Roub purchased a large knife for cutting meat, which he hid in the warehouse and under the mattress in the room in which they slept. The two also confessed to having another person whom they designated as their escape driver and with whom they coordinated an escape route for after the murder was complete.

Shin Bet forces said that during investigations of Schmerling’s murder new information was revealed pertaining to other other Qabatiya residents whose intentions are to carry out terror attacks against Jewish targets in Judea and Samaria. The interrogation and investigation of these more recent concerns is still ongoing.

A demolition order was issued on one of the terrorists’ houses, and counter-terrorism operations were carried out against suspects identified with the terrorists.

To be clear about what this all means: After an Arab who was trying to kill Jews was killed in an act of self-defense and after Arabs trying to kill Jews on the Temple Mount were killed and prohibited from going to the site unchecked, these Arab kids decided that the right thing to do was to avenge their friend’s death and the Jewish response to terrorism by trying again to stab Jews and to pick up where their friends left off. Unfortunately this is the perpetual logic of the Arab children, teenagers and young adults who have been educated to hate Jews and that it is the will of G-d to murder Jews.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Schmerling family and their loved ones. May Reuven Schmerling’s name be for a blessing.